Strength of Time, Destruction of Love
by Silver7
Summary: Okay, this is my first fic that I've posted. It focuses mainly on Hitomi's daughter and her first love, and what could happen because of that love. Um...what else? I'm crap at summaries. I don't know. Just read it. I promise, it's better than it sounds! ^
1. Meanings Unclear

Hey Everyone! This is my first fic that I've posted. I know that first chapter might not be much, but it will get better, I promise. E-mail me with your opinions, flames, etc. Thanx y'all!

Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne, or any of the Escaflowne characters.

Chapter 1: Meanings Unclear

Hitomi was walking through a lush green field. The puffy white clouds floated lazily in the azure sky. A warm breeze tickled her face. The sun shone so brightly, and the Mystic Moon hung perfectly in the sky.

She walked slowly, gazing at her surroundings. Suddenly, she saw Van standing there, his back to her. He turned around and gave her a smile that made her weak in the knees. 

"Van!" she cried. 

He held out his arms. She ran to him. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion in that moment. He grasped her in his strong arms, holding her tightly. 

"Hitomi. What a beautiful sight." Van held her at arm's length, studying her.

"Oh Van." Hitomi blushed, then cursed herself for blushing. **I don't need to blush. I love Van and he loves me. **

"Oh Hitomi." Van crushed her in his arms again.

"Van, you're hurting me." She laughed.

"Oh, sorry." Van said sheepishly, as he let her go. 

"Wow. What a wonderful day. It's all so perfect." Hitomi said. **Just the way it was meant to be. The way it will always be.**

She tilted her head back and closed her eyes. She remembered everything. She remembered being on Gaea, loving Van, leaving him. She remembered being on Earth, being miserable, feeling alone. Her mother's pleas rang in her ears. _Go back to where you were. I know you will be happy there, happier than you could ever be here_. She remember saying good-bye to her mother, Amano, Yukari. Then she left. She came back to Gaea, back to her true love, and back to her destiny. She remembered their wedding, such a joyous occasion. _May the gods unite you into one soul and one mind_. She remembered the birth of their child, a daughter, Celixa. Raising Celixa into a teenager. Being happy, happier than she ever had been. Images floated in her mind.

"Mother! Father!" Hitomi opened her eyes and turned around to see Celixa running towards them. 

"Hello daughter." Van said.

"Hello Father. Hello Mother. What a nice day." Celixa said cheerfully. 

"Absolutely beautiful." Hitomi agreed. 

"What have you been doing out here?" Van asked,

Hitomi watched Van and Celixa converse. **Celixa took most of her colouring from Van She took none from me at all.**. Celixa's dark shoulder-length hair, the same colour as Van's, fluttered in the wind. Her reddish-brown eyes, also inherited from Van, glinted in the sunlight. 

"Isn't life perfect." She mused to herself. She looked at her family. So beautiful. She had everything she ever wanted. 

The three were silent now, gazing at the clouds. Suddenly, Hitomi heard a maniacal laugh.

"Ha Ha. I've finally found you Van! _It's time to play_!"

**No. No, it can't be. He...he's gone. He's supposed to be gone. Celena took his place.**

Then red guymelef, a guymelef Hitomi and Van knew all to well, bounded through the trees. Another maniacal laugh cut through the air.

"You! Stay away. Stay away from my family!" Van drew his sword, leaping in front of Hitomi and Celixa. 

"Your family? Oh look. Isn't that the girl that was supposed to be Allen's lover? How did you get her? And who's this? Your daughter?" the insane voice rang throughout the field. A crima claw shot out and grabbed Celixa. Hitomi saw Celixa's eyes widen in confusion. The red guymelef went into flight mode and took off, leaving Hitomi and Van staring dumbly at it.

"No! Dilandau you coward! Get back here! This is between you and me! Release my daughter!" Van screamed vainly at the red guymelef, now just a speck in the sky.

"Celixa..." tears flooded Hitomi's eyes. The sky darkened. **Celixa.**

A low moan made Hitomi snap out of it. She looked to see Van drop his sword and scream. His face was ashen.

"Help me. Help me Hitomi. I..." Van trailed off and blood began to pour from his mouth.

"Van! What's wrong? Van!" Hitomi rushed to his side.

"Dilandau is getting back at me." His speech was broken. Hitomi heard blood gurgle in his throat.

"What? Van! No!" Hitomi yelled. **No.**

"Good-bye Hitomi. I love you." Van gasped before he collapsed to the ground.

"Van! VAN!"

Hitomi woke up in a cold sweat. The dream. It was so real. The images played in her mind. Dilandau. How silly. He couldn't be back. Celena is here, not him. 

**It was just a dream. Just a dream**. Hitomi reached out for Van. He was there, sound asleep. Breathing evenly. She touched his bare back. He was warm.

"Hitomi? What's the matter?" Van's voice was thick with sleep.

"Oh, nothing. Go back to sleep. I'm just going to go check on Celixa." Hitomi said, getting out of their bed.

"Are you sure nothing is wrong?' Van looked at her. She smiled.

"I'm sure. Go back to sleep." 

Hitomi put on a robe, opened the door, and crept out. Some of the guards looked at her quizzically as she went by. Finally she reached Celixa's room.

**I know it's just a dream, but still**. Hitomi remembered some of the visions she had had before, and a seed of doubt sprang into her mind. **Don't be silly. I have visions when I'm awake. I haven't ever had prophetic dreams before. At least, none that I can remember now. It was just a dream. **

Hitomi opened Celixa's door as quietly as she could. She glanced in, almost afraid that she would find Celixa gone. But, to Hitomi's relief, Celixa was there, sleeping soundly. She closed the door and crept back to her own room. She slid into bed next to Van and held onto him as she tried to fall back to sleep.

**No more nasty dreams for me. That's all it was. A dream. **

But that seedling of doubt started to grow. There was something that rang true about that dream. There was some kind of meaning. What was it?


	2. Refusal of the King

Hello again

Hello again! This is the second chapter of my story (as if you didn't know). There is a bit of harsh language in this chapter, so if that offends you, don't read. Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up. I've been laid up with the stupid flu. And we have exams in a week. Ahh! ^_^ 

Disclaimer: Do I have to do this for every chapter? Anyway, I don't own Escaflowne, don't sue me.
    
    Chapter 2: Refusal of the King

"Queen Hitomi, must you let them argue like this? Everyone looks most uncomfortable." The Royal Family's advisor, Fannar, said as he glanced around the royal court. Everyone was either looking at their feet or shifting nervously around. Some were doing both. 

"Why don't you ask them yourself?" Hitomi asked, looking weary.

"Uh, I, well, maybe it's best if we didn't interrupt them." Fannar replied. He stood his ground again and paid attention to the argument. Celixa and Van were arguing about sword fighting; Celixa wanted to learn, Van thought she shouldn't.

"But Father, why not?" Celixa asked. 

"A young lady, especially one who is to be queen of Fanelia, should learn ladylike things!" Van replied.

"You knew how to handle a sword when you were my age, when you were younger than me. You slayed a dragon to become king." Celixa retorted.

"It was my duty! And you know very well that women do not have to slay dragons!" Van argued.

Fannar looked at them both. **They should not be fighting like this. Suppose some of His Majesty's subjects saw him.** **What would they think of their king? **The advisor could only imagine.

Fannar did not look much like a scholar. He had bright red hair, which he was forever trying to get into place. His brother used to say that he looked like a squirrel's tail. He also had dull hazel eyes, magnified by thick glasses. Like most redheads, he also had a sprinkling of freckles across his nose. He was also shorter than average people, so sometimes he looked a little bit older than Celixa's age rather than a little older than Van's. But, what he lacked in size, he made up for in intelligence. He was one of the smartest people in Fanelia, which is why he became an advisor so young.

The argument was coming to an end. Van looked tired. 

"Why don't you go learn something useful? Why do you need to learn how to use a sword." Van said.

"There are a lot of whys, Father. Why don't I feed myself to a dragon? Why don't I jump off the valley cliffs? Why should I stick around here? Why the hell am I still talking?" Celixa yelled. **Celixa and King Van always did have strange arguments. **

"Why are you so intent on doing this?" Van asked.

"Why do you care? Oh, I like that why. Why _do_ you care, Father? My bet would be that you don't. I will do this. You can't stop me." With that, she turned and stalked from the room. 

"Van, maybe you shouldn't have been so hard on her." Hitomi said.

"She has to learn! She needs to learn how to behave like a lady." Van slouched in his throne. 

"I think she'll learn in time. She doesn't need you pushing her." Hitomi said quietly. **Good gods, not another argument. **
    
    Van sighed heavily. "Fannar, what do you think?" 

"Well sire, in my humble opinion, Celixa doesn't need to learn to be a lady, she needs to learn how to be a ruler." **I hope he doesn't get mad at me for saying that. **

"Hmm, maybe you're right. I'll think about it. Thank you. I'm hungry. Why haven't we eaten yet?"

Merle sat on the edge of a fountain in the castle gardens. She picked a leaf off the ground and threw it in the water.

Merle had grown and matured too. She was now taller, and much less annoying. Her hair was still a light shade of pink and she still wore it short. Her stripes had thinned out and her fur had gotten lighter. Her voice was much less ear piercing.

Suddenly she heard a voice cut through the flowery air in the garden.

"Fuck damn whore hell Jesus bitch shit bastard skank." Celixa marched up to the fountain and sat down. Her cheeks were bright red with anger. She was dressed in a dark purple Juliet-type dress. Her hair was pulled up behind her head. 

"Did I miss any?" she asked.

"Not that I can think of." Merle replied. "What happened?"

"Father won't let me take sword lessons."

"Don't you take them already?" Merle asked. As far as Celixa had told her, she had begun to sneak out every night and take sword lessons.

Celixa gave her a look. "That's not the point. Those are only short lessons. I can't become really good with short lessons like that. I love taking them, but they're short. And they're at night."

"Your parents don't know, do they?" Merle asked. 

"No, of course not. I came close last night though. Mother poked her head in my room just as I got into bed. I came _this close_." She held both her fingers close together. 
    
    "Did you and Lord Van have a big fight?"
    "Well, you know Father." Celixa swirled a finger in the fountain water.

Yes I do. I wonder if I should tell Lord Van what Celixa has been doing. He does have a right to know. 
    
    "Well, I guess I'd better go." Celixa stood up suddenly and started to walk away quickly. "Good-bye."
    **
    I wonder where she's going. I need to find Hitomi. I wonder if she knows about Celixa's sword fighting.
    **Celixa walked briskly into the castle, heading for her room. **I need to find those books. ** When she was a little girl, she found some books on Draconians buried in the garden. They had once belonged to her Uncle Folken. They gave a lot of information on Draconians and Atlantis.
    Once she reached her room Celixa checked to make sure that no one was around. She entered her room and shut the door. There was a secret spot where she kept the books. When the castle had been rebuilt, someone had left a hallow space in the wall. If you removed a stone, there was a space just big enough to fit the books that she found, along with her sword and dagger.
    "What book was it? I need the one about Draconian powers. Ah, here it is." She pulled the book out and replaced the stone. She flipped through the book until she found the right page.
    "Hmm. 'A Draconian has the power to sense other people's thoughts. If the person is a half-breed, they still have the power, just not as strongly.' I'm a half-breed. I know I can do that. If I'm right, then Merle is going tell Father something. She thinking about it anyway, she's just not sure. If she does I swear I am going to show her my skills on a sword." Celixa shut the book and replaced it.
    **I'm going to go find Merle and see if I'm right or not. Too bad Merle can't sense thoughts. If she could, she'd be pretty damn worried right about now.**
    Well, that's it for this chapter. Sorry if it's starting off kind of slow. My thinking has been kind of stiff lately. Most of the story ideas are on my computer. I just need to put it all together. ^_^ Anyway, the next chapter should be up in a few days. Please review and e-mail me with your opinions.
    


	3. Into the Night

Hi Everyone
    
    Hi Everyone. Sorry this took a while to get out. I've been working on my exams. Study Study Study. ^_^ Anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing. 

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Escaflowne.

Chapter 3: Into the Night

Celixa crept through the garden, careful not to make any noise. She had seen her mother and Merle come out here. 

"If she tells Mother I swear I am going to kill her." She breathed. **She can't tell Mother. I trusted her. **

"Now Merle, what was it that you wanted to talk about?" Hitomi's voice floated over the flowery air. 

"She wouldn't." Celixa murmured to herself. **Don't jump to conclusions. She might just want to talk to Mother. **

"It's about Celixa." Merle replied.

****

That bitch! Celixa crept closer to where her Hitomi and Merle sat. Merle had her back to her, and Celixa resisted the urge to go up and beat the living hell out of her.

"You deserve what's coming to you." Celixa whispered quietly. Only the flowers heard her.

"What about Celixa?" Hitomi asked patiently. Merle sat facing her, wringing her paws. **I wonder should I really tell her? Maybe this isn't the right thing to do.**

"Well, um, you know how Lord Van doesn't want Celixa fighting?" Merle replied, her voice hesitant. 

"Yes, they had quite an argument about it today actually. But what does that have to do with anything?" Hitomi's wide emerald eyes looked quizzically at Merle. **I'm just going to come right out and say it. Come on Merle! Don't be a wimp! Just say it. **

"Well, Celixa has been taking sword lessons behind Lord Van's back. She takes them every night. She told me not to tell but I thought that I should because I though you should know and now you do." Merle took a deep breath and held it, waiting for Hitomi's reaction. **There. I said it. **
    
    "Really? How long have you known this?" Hitomi asked her.

"Um, for a few weeks. I thought Lord Van should know." Merle replied.

"Then why didn't you tell Van?" 

"Um, well. I wanted you to tell him." 

"Why?" Hitomi asked, her expression confused. 

"Well, I didn't want Celixa to know that I told." Merle replied. Suddenly she heard a branch crack behind her. She turned slowly, afraid of what she might see.

"Well, it's a bit too late for that now, isn't it?" Angry red eyes fixed on her face. "Go ahead, tell Father. It's not like I care anyway. I should have known not to trust a beast like you."

"Celixa!" Hitomi cried. "What an awful thing to say."

Celixa didn't reply; she only stormed off toward the town.

"Maybe I should go tell Lord Van now." Merle said. 

"You might as well." Hitomi replied. "Let's go. I'm really sorry about what Celixa said."

"It's okay." **I know she's mad, but did she have to say that. She deserves to get in trouble.**

A while later, a palace guard, Wulet, was out searching for Celixa. King Van had asked him to go get her immediately. The guard scanned the street. **I wonder where she is. I wonder why King Van was so angry. I'd better find her, quick.**

Finally the guard spotted her talking to one of the peasants. **There she is. **Relief flooded through him. **I won't be getting in trouble now. **He marched up to where she was standing.
    
    "Princess Celixa, you must come back to the castle with me."
    "Why?" the princess sounded annoyed.
    "King Van requests your presence." **Please don't give me any trouble.
    **
    "I'll be there in a minute." She replied, "I'm sure it's not that important." With that she turned away from him, apparently dismissing him. **Lord Van said to bring her back immediately. I hate dealing with the princess when she's upset.
    **
    "I'm afraid King Van said you must come back to the castle immediately. He said it was very important."
    "Oh good gods. I suppose Father's too lazy to get up off his throne and get me himself right?" she gave an annoyed sigh. "I'll talk to you later, okay?" she said, addressing the peasant.
    "You shouldn't talk about your Father like that, princess." Wulet said hesitantly.
    "Okay, listen Wulet, I'm really kind of mad right now, so it might be better if you didn't talk to me, okay? I mean this in the nicest way possible: stuff it." Celixa stalked off ahead of him.
    **
    Well that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. **Wulet ran to catch up with the princess.
    An hour later, Hitomi grimaced as she listened to another argument. Van was screaming at Celixa, while Celixa just looked angry, glaring at Merle occasionally.
    "How could you disobey me? I specifically told you notto take sword lessons!" Van took a deep breath.
    "But Father, I have become quite good. Why don't I show you my skill? I can test it out on Merle." She turned and glared at Merle again. **Oh dear. Everyone's mad. What are we going to do about this? I don't think I've ever seen Van quite this angry.
    **
    "Don't talk to Merle that way." Van said angrily.
    "Oh yes, I forgot. Merle is your 'lifelong best friend.'" Celixa practically spat the words out. "I'm just your flesh and blood. Who cares about me?" she went on, sarcasm evident in her words.
    "Don't talk to me like that." Van said.
    "Okay then. I won't talk to anybody." Celixa turned on heel and stomped out.
    "Celixa! Get back here! Celixa!" for a minute Hitomi thought that he was going to get up and chase after her, but he didn't.
    "I'm sorry Lord Van." Merle whimpered. **I know Merle must feel guilty. Celixa is being unreasonable, but I suppose she has her reasons. How much longer will this go on?
    **
    "What am I going to do with her? Someone go get her." Van said.
    "Wait Van. Maybe it's better if she gets left alone. I know she's mad, but she wouldn't do anything rash."
    Later that night, Celixa was stuffing everything valuable she had in a black bag. Someone had came and knocked on her door, but after she yelled at them, they had retreated.
    **
    Most people would say I'm silly for running away from a palace, but I hate being treated unfairly. Merle kept it from father for a while, but he didn't yell at her. Even Mother said that father yelled at me a lot. I'm getting tired of palace life anyway.
    **
    After she had everything packed, she looked for something to change into. **All black would look really suspicious. Hmm, this is good. **She pulled out a dark green dress. She changed into that and pulled on a hooded black cloak. **There, perfect. **She opened her window and got ready to climb out.
    "Celixa? Are you all right? Please open the door." Celixa heard her mother through the locked door. **Damn.
    **
    "I'm fine mother. I'm just going to bed." Celixa called back.
    "Merle is downstairs; she wants to talk to you."
    "Well I don't want to talk to that traitor. Or anyone else, for that matter." **Hint hint Mother. Go away. I don't want to talk to you, or Merle, or Father, or anyone that comes knocking.
    **
    "Celixa, I'm sure that Merle had her reasons. Your father too." Hitomi pleaded with her.
    "Oh stop kidding yourself Mother." Celixa replied scornfully. "Father gets on my case about everything and you know it. And you told me that you didn't like Merle when you came to Gaea. What changed your mind? Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed. Good-bye."
    She heard her Mother shuffle away. **Finally. Although, I do feel bad about leaving like this. No! Stop thinking like that. **She threw open the window, and before she could give it a second thought, climbed out into the night.
    Well, that's it for this chapter. I hope you liked it. Please e-mail me or review and tell me what you thought of it. I accept any suggestions that anyone might have. Thanks for reading!
     


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